Category: Mental Health
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Faith, Strength and Weakness: Guest Blog by YouBelong
(Please note: I have used the term ‘He’ to describe God because this is a pronoun I am comfortable using but please replace it with whatever pronoun/s you feel more comfortable with when reading it that enables you understand God in all their fullness). When Rachael asked me to write something for the blog, she…
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A Familiar Fog
I could feel the lump solidifying in my throat, my eyes burned and brimmed with tears, the exhaustion had settled upon me like a leaden cloak. It was all too familiar. I have been acquainted with this fog for over half of my life, and yet it still catches me unawares. It’s different now, though.…
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Poverty, Justice and Mental Health
I was thrilled to be a part of Kintsugi Hope and Christians Against Poverty’s #TheBigDebate earlier this week and you can now see my interview with Nina Hossain in full.
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Holding Out Hope
Whether or not you’ve ever watched anything that the late Caroline Flack presented, it’s unlikely that you won’t have heard that over the weekend, Caroline died by suicide. News of her death has filled column inches, clickbait articles and provoked debate around everything from the existence of shows such as “Love Island”, to press intrusion,…
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The Way of the Waves
There are things you begin to notice. Your voice quietens, just a little. Noise seems louder, scratching at your eardrums. You’re more easily irritated, patience worn thin. You are tired, the tiredness spreads through your body like slowly freezing water. It is cold, painful and slows your thoughts and movement. The feelings are dully familiar,…
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Speak of Suicide and Speak Hope #WSPD2019
“You aren’t going to do anything silly, are you?” “Can you promise you won’t do anything stupid?” A member of staff at my secondary school asked me these questions countless times during my sixth form years. They weren’t talking about me bunking off lessons, getting into trouble or talking back; they were talking about suicide…
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After Awareness
There are, it seems, awareness days for everything under the sun. A quick google revealed that this month alone there is a World Sepsis Day, a Pension Awareness Day, International Talk Like a Pirate Day and a National Doodle Day. Everything has it’s day; and don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful that lesser known or…
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Take Care
I wrote this last year as a part of the ThinkTwice #TakeCare campaign and it seems right to share it here to mark this years Self Harm Awareness Day. For the longest time, the idea of taking care of myself was an anathema to me. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do something…
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Vulnerability Hangover
On Sunday I preached three times on a theology of mental health and finding Jesus in the darkest of places, sharing some of my story along the way. It’s something I do a lot, it’s a part of my job. But there was something particularly poignant about sharing at my home church. Usually I can…
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Stories in Safe Places
I spent much of yesterday with a group of chaplains talking about suicide. Perhaps not the way many would choose to spend their Wednesday, but it is arguably the most important part of my job. People, unsurprisingly, don’t like talking about suicide; it’s scary and taboo. And yet at the centre of every suicide; every…
Rachael Newham 